Landlords to benefit from Brits’homeownership attitude?

Private landlords may be among those who benefit from Britons' lack of desire to own their own home.

According to new research from the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA), 30 per cent of adults in Cardiff do not want to buy a property - an attitude that has grown in popularity since the onset of the recession.

Some 27.7 per cent of adults in Manchester felt the same, while a quarter of people in both Brighton and Belfast said they do not want to be a homeowner.

Overall, 16 per cent of adults across the UK feel the same way, which suggests there are a substantial number of people who would be happy to pay a landlord rent.

Chief executive of the NAEA Peter Bolton King remarked: "The recession has left many people feeling that they cannot get onto the property ladder."

He added that the government should take some of the responsibility for the current attitude to homeownership and called on politicians to reform the stamp duty property tax - a levy he described as a "tax on aspiration".